Oklahoma's Offensive Assistants Held on in Norman Despite Job Uncertainty

Changes are abound with the Oklahoma football program.

A new era will be ushered in this fall as Brent Venables takes the field as OU’s head coach for the first time. Spring football will allow the remaining coaches to close the book on the Lincoln Riley era.

The OU football program was shaken to its core on Nov. 28 when Riley made the leap to USC, leaving many coaches in limbo.

“I found out that Sunday. I did,” Oklahoma offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh said in a press conference on Thursday. “It's a lot of unknowns. You don't know. You've got a family. That's the most important thing and that's the first thing that goes through your head.

“My kids have grown up here. My wife's from Oklahoma. And hell, I may have been forced to ... I don't wanna say 'forced,' but may have had to go.”

Bedenbaugh said he sympathized with everyone on staff, including the members of the staff who followed Riley to USC, because of the uncertainty with the situation.

“That's what people on the outside don't realize,” Bedenbaugh said. “Even these guys that left. They didn't have a choice. They had to have jobs. I was fortunate enough to have the time to wait around.”

Even for seasoned veterans like Cale Gundy, the coaching change was unprecedented.

“(Riley) walked in and shut the door and boom. You know? Your life can be changed immediately,” Gundy said. “… I had never been in it. I’ve always kind of been given everything on a platter. Been very fortunate and very blessed with that. So I was kind of in the phase where I just didn’t know anything different.

“… I didn’t know really how to handle it. I didn’t ask anybody. I think I told my brother that if things don’t work out, just keep me in mind. Besides that, I just wanted to work. I wanted to keep working. Regardless of somebody came in and kept me or not. I wanted to make sure to leave this place as good as it possibly could be. That’s the only way I could have done it.”

Tight ends/H-back coach Joe Jon Finley said he didn’t have any insight he could give to Kaden Helms and Jason Llewellyn, his tight end commits, but he was happy they stayed on through the transition.

“The biggest thing I told them, I said, listen, I understand exactly where you’re at,” Finley said. “I’m pretty much in the right place. I don’t know what ‘s going to happen around here. But I do know this. We’re going to get a really good football coach.

“I said, just take your time. There’s no need to rush… If we hire a guy, and you don’t like what’s going to happen around here, then you’ve got to make the best decision for yourself... That’s what I asked them to do, and that’s what they did. And then they got Coach Venables as a home run. Obviously, I was lucky enough to stay, and it worked out perfectly.”

Once Venables was hired, however, things moved pretty quickly and worked themselves out for Bedenbaugh, Gundy, Finley and DeMarco Murray.

“I had a pretty good idea that it was gonna work out,” Bedenbaugh said. “… It's kind of all a blur. (Brent) just came in and said he wanted me to stay. I said, I'm here. That's basically how it happened.

“… Got a pretty good relationship with our administration and let it be known that I wanted to stay if I could. There's no guarantees. But at some point, I had to make a decision if I didn't know what was gonna happen. It worked out for the best.”

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